Removable hand lever construction



July 14, 1970 R. J. SCOTT 3,520,056

REMOVABLE HAND LEVER CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 15, 1968 INVENTOR Em /POB[RT .I 56077 ATTORNEYS United States Patent O REMOVABLE HAND LEVER CONSTRUCTION Robert J. Scott, Blue Springs, M0., assignor to Rival Manufacturing Company, Kansas City, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Filed .Ian. 15, 1968, Ser. No. 697,977 Int. Cl. B67b 7/38, 7/32 US. Cl. 30-4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An electrically powered can opener has a cutter wheel carrying hand lever pivotally attached to its forward upright frame by an elongate pin assembly. One embodiment includes a push button operated latching member which releasably locks the pin assembly (and hand lever) to the can opener frame. When the push button is depressed, the latch releases the pin assembly and the hand lever may be removed from the can opener.

The second embodiment, which also facilitates hand lever removal, utilizes a combination key way and locking bar. When the hand lever is in a preselected position, the locking bar on the rearward end of the pin assembly is aligned with the key way thereby permitting withdrawal of the hand lever from the can opener frame.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Electrically powered can openers with permanently affixed cutter wheels are difiicult to clean and maintain completely sanitary. The cutter wheel, upon piercing the lid, often contacts the food stuffs in the can and collects food particles on and around the wheel itself after repeated use. Due to the close tolerances between the cutter wheel and the supporting structure, a thorough washing and cleaning is practically impossible without submerging the entire can opener. As a result, the accumulation of food particles often putrifies and presents an unsightly appearing household appliance having an unpleasant odor.

My invention relates to can openers having cutter wheel carrying hand levers and provides for easy removal of the hand levers from the can opener for cleaning purposes.

In one embodiment, a push button operated latch engages the pin assembly connection between the hand lever and the can opener frame. By depressing the push button, the latch moves out of engagement with the elongate pin assembly, thereby facilitating the withdrawal and removal of the hand lever from the can opener.

The second embodiment disclosed herein eliminates the latch and utilizes the position of the hand lever itself to facilitate easy separation from the can opener. A pivotal connection (again the rearward extension of the elongate pin assembly) releasably fits within a keyed aperture in an embossed portion of the can opener frame. The pin assembly has a locking bar on its end extremity which is in a locked position against the inner or rearward surface of the apertured boss. By moving the hand lever to a preselected position, the pin assembly which is fixedly connected to the hand lever may be slidably removed from the keyed aperture within the boss thereby allowing the hand lever to be' separated from the can opener and easily returned after cleaning by reversing the removal operation.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide, in a can opener of the type wherein the cutting element is carried by and moved into and out of a can cutting position by a hand lever substantially pivoted to the body or frame of a can opener, a readily removable can piercing lever assembly by an operation completely exterior of the can opener. In this manner,

3,520,056 Patented July 14, 1970 the cleaning of the cutting element is expedited and made substantially easier by washing or submerging same in a cleaning solution.

A further object of the invention is to provide a readily removable can piercing lever assembly of the character described that may be removed by the user at any time by simply depressing a spring biased push button and withdrawing the lever assembly from the can opener frame. The lever assembly may be returned after cleaning simply by again depressing the push button and reversing the withdrawal operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a readily removable can piercing lever assembly of the character described by the principal object and wherein the removal of a lever assembly may be accomplished by pivotally moving the hand lever to a preselected position and separating same from the body or frame of the can opener.

Other and further objects of this invention will appear in the course of the following description thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the accompanying drawing which forms a part of the instant specification and is to be read in conjunction therewith, like reference numerals are employed to indicate like parts.

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the power operated can opener embodying the push button operated latching mechanism, the operating parts shown in a normal rest position;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the can piercing lever assembly looking at same from the rear or the side adjacent the front frame of the can opener;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged rear fragmentary elevational view of the can opener front frame and showing the mounting of the latch member relative to same absent the protective casing and with certain parts broken away for purposes of illustration;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along the lines 44 of FIG. 3 in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevational view of the upper left hand portion of a power operated can opener embodying the second embodiment of the subject invention;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along the lines 66 of FIG. 5 in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken generally along the lines 7--7 of FIG. 6 in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawing, reference numeral 10 generally designates a body or a frame of a typical electrically operated can opener. The principal portion of the frame shown in the various views is the vertical or upright front member 10a. In commercial practice, this frame member 10a cooperates with an open front boxlike casing (not shown) and provides supports for the various parts of the can opener.

A serrated or toothed rotary can feed wheel for the can opener is indicated at numeral 11, and is located on the forward side of frame 10a. A feed wheel drive shaft extends through frame 10a and is rotatably supported in an appropriately bearinged aperture in a thickened portion of the frame. An electric motor means (not shown) rotates a shaft 12 (FIGS. 1 and 5) and drives feed wheel 11 in a conventional manner.

A pivotal piercing hand lever, generally indicated by the numeral 13, is located forwardly of frame 10a and serves to provide a movable support for cutter wheel 14 which is mounted for free rotation on the usual stud or arbor anchored in lever 13 and held on the arbor by screw 15.

Hand lever 13 has an elongate pin member assembly extending through a suitable aperture therein and fixedly secured thereto. The pin assembly takes on two different forms and is shownas one embodiment in FIGS. 14 and as a second embodiment in FIGS. 57. In both embodiments, the forwardly or outwardly extending portion of the assembly includes a cylindrical rod-like projection 16, which may act as a can guide. A polygonal nut-like intermediate head portion 16b abuts the forward face of hand lever 13 for purposes of securing same to the can opener frame a.

The first embodiment, shown in FIGS. 24, discloses a threaded portion 160 which extends through a suitable aperture in hand lever 13 and into an appropriate opening within frame 10a. The inner shoulder of intermediate head 16b is drawn against the face of lever 13 by an elongate nut or pin member generally indicated by the numeral 17. The rearward end portion of the pin member 17 has an annular groove 17a which is designed to cooperate with a latching member, discussed later. The elongate pin member 17 is rotatably positioned within a bearing opening or aperture provided in a thickened portion of frame 10a. This thickened or embossed frame portion is indicated by the numeral 10b and corresponds in length with pin member 17 so that the annular groove 17a extends slightly beyond the rear extremity of boss 1%. As suggested above, the relative diameters of the pin member 17 and of the aperture or bearing opening through which the pin member extends in boss 10b are such that the entire pin assembly is allowed to rotate with the pivotal movement of hand lever 13.

Turning now to a more detailed description of the lever assembly securing means associated with the first embodiment, a latch member generally indicated by the numeral 18 is mounted in a vertical plane substantially parallel to front 10a. This member (see FIG. 3) has a wide upper portion 18a and a necked down, more narrow lower half 18b. The upper half, 18a, is suitably apertured at 18c to permit a guiding boss 10c to extend therethrough. Aperture 180 allows up and down movement of latch member 18, which will be described in more detail, so that the presence of boss 100 does not affect the vertical movement. A second aperture 18d is located below aperture 180 in latch member 18 and has a shape that approximates that of a keyhole (see FIG. 3). When latching member 18 is in the up position as shown in FIG. 4, the lower or narrower portion of keyhole aperture 18d permits latch 18 to be engaged within groove 17a on pin member 17. The larger or upper end portion of keyhole aperture 18d is adequately sized to allow pin member 17 to move transversely within same in an unencumbered fashion.

The lower half, 18b, of latch 18 extends through a slot in a spring mount generally indicated by the numeral 19. This spring mount is supported by a frame side 10d which is fixedly mounted adjacent frame 10a and which has a flanged upper end with a pair of legs 10e extending horizontally therefrom. The spring mount 19, with a rectangular slot 19a therein, is then welded to the upper surface of the two legs 10:: so that slot 19a is in communicating relationship with the space between the two legs. With this construction, the latch lower half, 18b, extends through both slot 19a, between legs 10e, and is free to move up and down relative thereto.

As best seen in FIG. 4, a compression spring 20 is circumscribed around the latch half 181) between the spring mount 19 and the lower end extremity of the upper half 18a. Accordingly, spring 20 biases latch member 18 upwardly and urges the portion of latch 18 around keyhole aperture 18d into annular groove 17a. In this position, the slidable detachment of the pin assembly from its pivotal position within frame 10a is thereby precluded. The above-mentioned vertical movement of the latch 18 is facilitated in part by use of a push button 24 which is affixed to the upper end portion of same. The

box-likereceptacle also mentioned above, is suitably slotted to permit button 24 to extend through and above its upper surface. To further position latch member 18, a locking washer 23 is attached over the rear half of boss 10c and locates the latch 18 between the annular thickened portion 10c and itself. In this manner, wobble or buckling of the latch structure is further eliminated when depressed.

In operation, when it is desired to remove hand lever 13, one need only to depress push button 24. With push button 24 depressed to the broken line position as shown in FIG. 3, latch member 18 moves downwardly against compression spring 20 and frees the lower portion of the keyhole aperture 18d from its engaged relationship with annular groove 17a. When the upper portion of the key hole comes into registration with the elongate pin member 17, hand lever 13 may be pulled outwardly away from frame 10a removing the pin assembly (and hand lever) from its pivotal position within the aperture in boss 10b. The hand lever and cutter wheel may now be washed or cleaned independently of the remainder of the can opener structure and replaced in its operable position merely by once again depressing push button 24 and sliding the elongate pin member 17 within the aperture in boss 10a. When push button 24 is released, compression spring 20 will urge latch 18 upwardly into engagement with annular groove 17a along the lower portion of the keyhole.

The elongate pin assembly of the second embodiment is changed somewhat from that discussed above. As seen in FIGS. 5-7, can guide 16 and the polygonal head 16b are still located on the forward side of the hand lever 13. A rod member 21 extends rearwardly through an aperture in hand lever 13 and through an aligned opening in frame 10a. The hand lever may then be spot welded to rod 21 so that it becomes an integral part of the hand lever structure. The rearward portion of rod 21 is rotatably positioned within an opening in boss 10a which extends rearwardly of frame 16a. A locking bar 22 is welded transverse to the longitudinal center line of rod 21 across the rear end extremity thereof. This bar is of such a length that the end portions of the bar extend beyond the cylindrical surface of rod 21 (see FIG. 6).

In order to slidably fit rod 21 within boss 10a, the apertured boss contains a key way 22b. As seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, with the locking bar in a vertical position, it is alignable with key way 22b so that the hand lever assembly (more particularly rod 21 and bar 22) may be inserted through both frame 10 and frame boss 10a. Rotation of hand lever 13 in a clockwise direction (as seen in FIG. 1) moves the locking bar (22) end portions out of registration with the key way 2212 so that these end portions now bear against the outer end extremity of the boss 10a. This position precludes slidable disengagement of the hand lever from the can opener.

When it is desired to remove the hand lever from the can opener for various purposes such as washing, etc., it is only necessary that hand lever 13 be moved in a counterclockwise direction (as seen in FIG. 1) until it is in or near a vertical position. At this point, the locking bar 22 is aligned with key way 22b and the entire hand lever assembly may be withdrawn from its pivotal position within frame 10a. Returning the hand lever to its operating position is easily accomplished by properly aligning the locking bar in the key way, sliding same interiorly of frame 10a (within boss 10a) and rotating the hand lever to the positions shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all of the ends and objects therein set forth, together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the structure.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed with out reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims. As many possible embodiments may be made of the 5 invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim:

1. In a can opener having an upright frame member, a rotary feed wheel and a means for rotating said feed wheel, the combination therewith of:

a hand lever member carrying a cutting element, means mounting said lever member to said frame member for pivotal movement of said lever member to swing said cutting element toward and away from said feed wheel, said means including a bearing opening in one of said members, and a pin member secured to and projecting from the other of said members for mounting purposes, said opening receiving said pin member therein to permit relative rotative movement therebetween and selective axial separation thereof,

a releasable latch member supported for movement transversely toward and away from the axis of said pin member between a latching position and a release position, said pin and latch members having cooperating portions in the latching position which are engaged to prevent the axial separation of said opening and said pin member while still permitting relative rotation thereof and said cooperating portions in the release position being disengaged to permit axial separation and removal of said lever member from its connection with said frame member, and

resiliently yieldable means operating to resist disengagement of said cooperating portions.

2. The invention as in claim 1 wherein said pin member has an annular groove defined in at least one end portion thereof, a spring located between said frame member and said latch member, said spring urging said latch member in the latching position into an engaging relationship in said groove.

3. The invention as in claim 2 including a push button operatively associated with said latch member and at least partially located exteriorly of said can opener frame member, said push button operative to cause disengagement of said groove and said latch member when same is depressed.

4. The invention as in claim 1 including a casing,

said casing enclosing at least a portion of said frame member and said latch member,

a push button operatively associated with said latch member and at least partially located exteriorly of said can opener casing, said push button operable to cause said pin member and said latch member to become disengaged when said push button is depressed, thereby permitting said lever member to be removed from said frame member.

5. The invention as in claim 1, said frame having a front and a rear, said lever member located in front of said frame,

a casing substantially enclosing the rear of said frame,

a manually engageable surface connected with said latch member and operable to displace said latch member between said latching and release positions, said surface located exteriorly of said casing and frame member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,619,718 12/1952 Landry 30--9 2,810,952 10/1957 Sundell 304 2,883,745 4/1959 Bristol 30--4 2,994,953 8/ 1961 Aberer 304 3,018,548 1/1962 Rogers et al. 304 3,059,332 10/ 1962 Chappell et a1 304 3,066,409 12/ 1962 Smith 304 3,423,825 1/ 1969 Frost et al 304 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,475,656 2/ 1967 France.

545,904 8/ 1922 France.

149,535 12/ 1952 Australia. 1,090,137 9/ 1960 Germany.

JAMES L. JONES, JR., Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 3015.5 

